Who is experienced with eggplants?

When Lidia Bastianich isn't running one of her many restaurants from N.Y.C. to Kansas City, Mo. or penning cookbooks like her latest work, Lidia's Commonsense Italian Cooking ($35; amazon.com), she might be found cooking for her family on a Sunday afternoon. read more

However, you don't need to peel eggplant if you prepare it properly. That means slicing it and grilling or baking it for a few hours. You can mash it afterward if the recipe calls for it. That being said, you may have a recipe that calls for peeled eggplant. You would definitely peel eggplant when preparing Baba ghanoush. read more

Uncooked eggplant flesh soaks up a considerable quantity of oil when it is cooked in the oil, and then releases much of the oil when the eggplant flesh softens. If the oil is flavored with aromatics (e.g., garlic, ginger, hot chilis), the eggplant will hold at least some of that flavor. read more

Salting the eggplant will draw out the eggplant's bitter liquids, many claim. BUT in On Food and Cooking, Harold McGee surmises that the added salt changes our perception rather than the eggplant's actual flavor. read more